This is why getting angry can improve your overall happiness

Have you lost your temper recently? Do you feel a rush of fury every time you hear the word ‘Trump’?

If you’ve felt or expressed anger in the last week, believe it or not, you’re healthier than you think.

According to a new study conducted by a team of international researchers, getting angry can have a positive effect on our lives because feeling the emotions we want to express makes us happier in the long run.

In an interview with the BBC, lead researcher Dr. Maya Tamir explained that happiness is significantly more complex than ‘simply feeling pleasure and avoiding pain.’

Instead, more authentic happiness can be achieved by being able to match your emotions to those you want to feel – even if they are unpleasant.

As an example, she said: ‘Someone who feels no anger when reading about child abuse might think they should be angrier about the plight of abused children, so want to feel more anger than they actually do in that moment.’

It’s important to be able to express your anger. Pic: Rex

In short, we are better off if we can feel these emotions than people who are unable to access that part of themselves.

In fact, the study actually showed 11% of people wanted to feel less love and empathy, while 10% wanted to feel less positive emotions like anger.

She said the study will hopefully change people’s obsession with believing they always have to be ‘happy’.

‘People want to feel very good all the time in Western cultures,’ she said.

‘Even if they feel good most of the time, they may still think that they should feel even better, which might make them less happy overall.’